Beautiful and Impossible Things
by Pir8grl
Summary: What might be going on in Sara's mind while Gideon has her in a healing coma?


Sara Lance awoke from a nap. She sighed contentedly as she sat up. She'd been asleep in the grass, under a tree. The sun was shining overhead, a brook babbled merrily nearby, and a soft breeze was blowing. She was perfectly comfortable in a sundress and bare feet.

She looked around curiously. She didn't know this place. That should have startled her into full wakefulness, but it didn't. She gave some serious consideration to laying back down and continuing her nap. She thought she'd been dreaming something nice…perhaps if she closed her eyes, she might recapture it.

"Sara."

She turned her head to see her sister seated beside her. "Laurel! How did you get…wherever the hell it is that we are?"

Laurel smiled serenely. "I told you…I'm never too far away."

Sara laughed mirthlessly. "I can't get anything right, can I? I let Darhk live, sacrificed you, to preserve the timeline, only to have his witch of a daughter kill me."

Laurel reached out and tucked a lock of Sara's hair back behind her ear. "You're not dead…not yet."

Sara snorted. "You mean again, don't you?"

"You're not dead," Laurel repeated firmly.

"It feels…different from the last time." Sara looked around again. "What is this place?"

"No place at all," Laurel replied, taking her sister's hand. "Your ship is trying to heal you."

"Yeah, like I told Rip…I've been resurrected once. It wasn't an improvement."

"Stop it! I went through too much to get you back to have you give up now! You've got a crew who depend on you."

"They've got Jax," Sara insisted stubbornly.

"Jax is an amazing engineer, and someday, he will make a great captain, but he's not there yet. And then there's that crook from Central City."

"Laurel, don't. Just…don't."

"Why not? With all the things you've seen, you must have at least considered -"

"Yeah, one of the things I've seen is an evil version of him who killed a good friend without even blinking. I don't know if I could handle finding another him-but-not-him."

"You can handle anything," Laurel told her confidently. "You deserve to find happiness…and so does he."

"Laurel, you never even met him."

"Doesn't matter," Laurel replied, with a knowing little smirk. "He makes you smile. That's all that matters to me."

Sara scrooged her eyes shut as she realized that memories of card games and pilfered booze and a jacket wrapped around her in a freezing engine room had indeed brought a smile to her lips.

"I'd like to meet her, someday," an achingly familiar voice drawled.

Sara's eyes flew open, and there he was, sprawled beside her in the grass. His clothes were more casual than she ever recalled seeing him wear - jeans, and a blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows. His feet were bare, she noted absently.

"Now I know I'm hallucinating," Sara muttered.

Snart reached out and lightly stroked her cheek, an artlessly tender gesture that was totally unlike anything he'd done during their time together. Sara couldn't help leaning into his touch.

"You're not real," she murmured.

Snart gently brushed away the tear that trickled down her cheek. "Are you sure about that? Think about it…about all the things you've seen. The Oculus. The multiverse. Why would you think you've seen the last of me?"

"But you - you're -"

"Highly motivated? Yes, I am. I've had a long time to think about me and you, and a kiss that I didn't have to steal, after all."

"You never did. Not really," Sara breathed.

"Good to know."

She could _**hear**_ the smirk in his voice - her eyes had drifted shut again. She tilted her head back, feeling the warmth of his body leaning towards her, expecting to feel his lips on hers -

"Hello, Captain Lance."

"Gideon." Sara opened her eyes and saw the human form of the Waverider's AI. "How are you here? I mean, we're not inside Rip's mind, right? Or are we?"

"No Captain, Gideon replied in her usual infuriatingly calm manner. "We are inside yours."

Sara blinked, wondering if she was losing her mind. The ship's AI was seated calmly on the grass beside her, breeze ruffling her summer dress and long dark hair.

"Gideon, what the hell is going on? Besides I'm hallucinating while I die?"

"You are not dying, Captain. You are safe aboard the Waverider, in an induced coma, while your body heals."

"Then why am I seeing Laurel and Snart? Why am I seeing people who are gone forever?"

"Who is to say that they are truly gone?" Gideon asked.

"Reality."

"Weren't you listening to them, Captain? Have you learned nothing from your time aboard the Waverider?"

"Yeah. I've learned new and even more painful ways to get my heart ripped out."

Gideon's expression turned disapproving. "The Sara Lance we all know is a fighter, and Captain, it is time for you to fight again."

"For what, Gideon? What have I got left to fight for?"

"Your life. Your future. Your crew. And perhaps, a chance to find those you've lost."

Gideon rose smoothly to her feet and eyed Sara speculatively. "You once described me as 'hot.' Might I return the compliment?"

"Gideon, are you _**flirting**_ with me?"

"Well, it worked for Mr. Snart." She held out a hand to Sara. "Come along, Captain. It's time to go home."


End file.
